Walz to relax restrictions Wednesday on indoor dining

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz is set to announce loosened restrictions on indoor dining and in other settings.

A spokesman said the governor will make the move Wednesday as the state’s coronavirus numbers have improved in recent weeks. But it will also come as restaurant and bar owners have increasingly pushed back on coronavirus measures that have pushed some to the edge of survival.

Walz has gradually relaxed virus restrictions, moving first to get elementary students back into school, reopen fitness centers and restart youth sports. But he had kept bars and restaurants closed for indoor service, arguing it was necessary to bridge a gap to when vaccinations were widely available.